1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to color conversion methods for color printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Printer drivers that generate printing data for printers use various color conversion profiles for color conversion (see JP-2003-271327-A).
ICC profiles, based on ICC (International Color Consortium) standards, are commonly used for color conversion profiles. Two types of ICC profiles, source profiles and destination profiles, are normally used. As is well known, the source profile is used to convert the color space of an input device, such as a digital camera, scanner, or the like (input color space) to a profile connection space. The destination profile is used to convert the profile connection space to the color space of an output device, such as a printer, monitor, or the like (output color space). Either lookup tables or conversion matrices may be used as the data format for the ICC profiles.
Conventionally, a printer color conversion lookup table, wherein the source profile and the destination profile have been combined, is created in advance and installed on a computer. This color conversion lookup table converts the input device color space (such as an sRGB color space) into a printer ink color space (such as a CMYK color space). Such printer color conversion lookup tables are created to suit printing modes used when printing. However, as conventional pre-combined printer color conversion lookup tables were stored on CD-ROMs and the like, these pre-combined printer color conversion lookup tables led to increases in the size of the printer drivers on the CD-ROM, which reduced the amount of space available for other areas. Furthermore, performing the combination during printing is disadvantageous in that it lowers processing speeds.